For many, foot-dragging part of tax ritual

Early filers often get refunds; those who owe wait till last minute.

Early filers often get refunds; those who owe wait till last minute.

April 14, 2007|YaVONDA SMALLS Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- Christine DeVore remembers standing in the downtown post office years ago as the clock neared midnight, the deadline for postmarking her tax return. The lines were long, somewhat comparable to the Christmas holiday shipping rushes. And a sense of nervousness filled the building as customers were eager to get their returns mailed off in time. "We're never doing that again," DeVore told herself that night. "We did (get through), but I didn't enjoy that at all. ...We just procrastinated," she said with a laugh. This year, she and her husband filed their taxes in February. "It's a lot less stressful, and you get your refund more quickly," she said. Apparently, though, the known stresses of last-minute filing aren't keeping other taxpayers from procrastinating even as this year's 1040 filing deadline looms. "My friends have been like, 'Oh, I guess we'd better get on that,'" said Tracey Chuckas, a Saint Mary's College freshman who filed taxes for the first time last Friday. It has become a rite of spring to see tax centers around Michiana bustling as last-minute filers finish what they've been putting off for the past couple of months. Of the 2.8 million Hoosier tax filers this year, 1.8 million had already filed by last week, meaning the IRS is still waiting for about one million returns, said Pat Brummer, IRS spokeswoman for Indiana and Kentucky. She expects slightly less than 200,000 Hoosiers to file for an extension this year. And of the 4.5 million filers in Michigan, 2.7 million have already filed, with 315,000 expected to file for an extension. "Luckily, we have a couple extra days this year," said Jackson Hewitt general manager Pam Zahrt. The tax deadline this year falls on Tuesday (April 17) at midnight since the typical April 15 deadline falls on a Sunday, and since April 16 is Emancipation Day, a legal holiday in the District of Columbia. But, for many taxpayers, the couple of extra filing days this year simply translates into a few extra excuses to put it off for as long as possible. "The procrastination club's coming in now, which I'm probably president of," Zahrt said with a light laugh. "I haven't even finished mine yet." Zahrt said business has started picking up this week, possibly because of the inclement weather. "Sometimes the nicer weather this time of year makes business worse," she said, explaining that beautiful days often deter people from wanting to spend time indoors. Overall, the procrastination of today's taxpayers don't come as a big surprise since it reflects an attitude that has been present for years, said Brummer of the IRS. She said people who file early often do so because they are expecting tax refunds. But for those who don't have that incentive, it's easy to hold off for as long as possible. "There are a number of people who owe, and they're going to wait to the last minute to send that check," Brummer said. Others who owe simply don't have enough money right now and want to wait as long as possible, hoping to get the money in time, she said. Another reason taxpayers may want to wait to file is that brokerage firms and financial institutions will sometimes send updated reports to taxpayers, said Claude Renshaw, professor of business at Saint Mary's College in South Bend. When they do, taxpayers who haven't yet filed can use the updated information instead of having to amend the information they've already sent in, he said. Even so, the best rule of thumb for any taxpayer is still not to wait too late to file, Brummer said. "People who wait to the last minute make mistakes," she said. Among the ones Brummer's seen are people who forget to enclose a check with their returns, people who neglect to sign their returns and people who make math errors. "There really aren't any advantages to waiting," said Susan Riddle, manager of H&R Block in Erskine Village. "It's actually more advantageous to file earlier." Staff writer YaVonda Smalls: yavsmalls@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6248